I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Judges 15. “Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said, ‘You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?’ So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines” (Verses 18-20). I think I have more then adequately relayed my feelings about Samson. In this chapter we see the results of his sins, and it is not him who pays the penalty for it, but his wife and her family. While I understand the reason, I can’t help but realize that had Samson been obedient in his nature toward God this whole story would read differently. Here’s the premise of the story so far. Samson, who in the previous chapter had basically thrown his wife away, goes back to get her. But her father believing that Samson had given her up gives her to another man. Samson gets mad and burns the Philistines corps. So in retaliation the Philistines burns the wife and her family. This makes Samson even madder so he kills 3000 Philistines all by himself. It is there we pick up our story. God has given Samson a huge victory, and what does he do? He whines and complains that he’s thirsty. Okay, granted killing 3000 men all by yourself could make one feel drained, and yes, thirsty, but shouldn’t the first action be to thank God? I am no mathematician, but I am fairly certain that it is statistically impossible for one man to kill 3000 men without some form of DIVINE intervention. Here’s my point remember to THANK God. He deserves it. Yes God answered Samson’s whiny prayer. But in reading the story of Samson, it seems that Samson, spent a lot of time missing the point and it wasn’t until the very, very end that he got it. Don’t miss the point, don’t be so caught up in how much God has blessed you with, that you take Him for granted. Be grateful for ALL He has done and ALL He is doing. Samson’s story would have been a whole lot different had he done this one simple thing.